CHAPTER VI A Time of Healing.
Konoha Hospital. Shinobi Ward.
The following Morning
Wh-where am it W-what happened?
Naruto's eyes flashed open before quickly shutting as the brightness of the lights around him. T
"Uugh" He loudly groaned his eyes firmly shut and moved to try to sit up.
This isn't my room. Sitting up he began smelling a strong sterilized smell. Letting out another groan he slowly started to open his eyes. This time the light proved much less bright, and he was finally able to look around the room. The room itself proved quite bare, with only 4 white walls and a loan chair beside the bed he was currently laying in.
A hospital…why am I- He started to get up before suddenly everything came back to him. The exam, the scroll, his fight with Mizuki, and finally talking with his mom.
That's right, me and Kenichi. We were fighting Mizuki, and then dad showed up and- "Arrah" he groaned loudly as he felt his head seemingly explode in pain.
Placing both hands on his head, he once again closed his eyes as the throbbing continued, not even noticing his door open and a nurse walk in until she suddenly screamed.
"Doctor he's awake!" She practically screamed and ran back though the open door, which only made his head hurt worse. .
"Inform Lady Kushina and Lord Hokage immediately!" He heard another voice, a man, say loudly as he ran into the room just in time to hear Naruto release another groan and close his eyes tightly.
"It's alright son, you're going to be alright." He heard the man say gently a few moments later and suddenly the pain in his head let up considerably.
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Hokage Tower, Office of the Hokage.
I shouldn't be here. Minato thought vehemently. I should be in the hospital with my wife and son!
Yet even as the thoughts went through his head, he remained here at the Kage tower listening to a report that, while important, he could not care less about right now. He did this because he was the Hokage, and this was his job. He was not a normal father who could be at the hospital and wait for his only son to wake up, who could be there to make sure that everything was ok, and who could have possibly even prevented this from ever happening to begin with!
Silently releasing a deep breath, Minato relaxed himself as the report doted on.
But none of that mattered because he was not a normal father. He was the Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village and for only the second time in his life he hated it with every ounce of his being. Even so, the only thing that stood between him and rushing into the Shinobi Ward of the Konoha hospital right now was, the head of the ANBU, Fang's presence and the important report they were discussing. A report he requested the moment the scroll had been stolen and demanded the moment after he had teleported a medic holding a passed-out Naruto to the hospital.
To add even more salt to the wound, this all happened the day he'd promised to meet his son after his exam, a single moment where he could play the role of dad rather than Hokage, but instead was forced into meeting after meeting to deal with the damned raid in the north. To make it even worse, he had the gall to request his own son come to him instead, as if he was scheduling an appointment, only to then be sidetracked by the scroll of sealing being stolen which triggered another emergency council meeting. If I wasn't such a terrible father then none of this would've happened, Naruto would be at home right now safe and sound. He'd -
"Lord Hokage?" Fang asked breaking the Kage out of his mental rant. "Did you hear me?"
Minato eyes flashed at the ANBU's words. "I'm sorry Fang." He said before motioning for him to repeat himself. "Do you mind repeating it?"
"I said that the vault had been sabotaged long before Kenichi arrived to steal the scroll."
"Was it Mizuki?" The Kage asked, his eyes flaring dangerously just uttering the name.
He almost regretted not using a touch more power in his rasengan and tearing the treacherous Chunin in two. Had he known the extent that his son had been injured and hadn't known that he may have key information about the scrolls theft then he may have just done it.
And if something happens to Naruto nothing will stop me from doing it. He mentally promised while almost not hearing Fang's response.
"Unlikely. His record's iffy at best, and I doubt he'd have either the know how to bypass the seals or the brains to do it without tripping any alarms. In fact, a shinobi of his level shouldn't even know the Vaults location in the first place."
"What are you saying Fang?" Minato asked to be sure he was understanding the ANBU correctly.
"Someone with very acute sealing abilities helped Mizuki break into the vault and did so without anyone knowing. An ANBU sealing unit checks the vault door every hour for any sign of entry and nobody ever reported tampering." The masked ninja said.
"Do you have any suspects?" Minato asked.
"No sir, Lord Second chose the vault to be adjacent to the main hallway leading to this office as a way of hiding it in plain sight. Dignitaries, nobles, and countless shinobi come through that hallway every hour of every day. It'd be next to impossible to identify who or what broke in and without that knowledge we have no way of knowing if they are even still here or not. The only alarm that wasn't disabled was the one that's triggered if the scroll is ever moved, and it was apparently tampered with to give a delayed response. By the time the damn thing went off the boy was long gone."
Minato sighed loudly before looking back up to Fang. "Tell Ibiki that I want him to concentrate all efforts on Mizuki." Minato stated. "I want to know everything he's done and anyone he's talked to since he uttered his first words!"
""Yes, Lord Hokage." Fang said with a bow and turned to take his leave. "And Lord Hokage." He said, with his back turned towards Minato.
"Yes Fang?"
"Based on what we know the traitor was only after the scroll, Naruto was never the target." He said before turning around completely. "And as a father whose seen his own son's name on the monument stone I know how you feel. You shouldn't blame yourself for this, neither my boy's death nor what happened to Naruto today is on your hands."
"Thank you Fang." Minato said with sincerity. He was taken back by the ANBU's words, he'd never really addressed his son's passing; choosing to rather mourn in private than speak publicly. The fact he even uttered the words now meant a lot. "It means a lot."
"Just the opinion of an old ANBU sir." The masked nin said before vanishing.
As Minato alone in his office, he allowed a moment to himself to relax his thoughts before he heard the sudden sound of knocking on his door.
Moments after the ANBU had left, Minato heard a loud knock on his door. "Enter" he said aloud without looking. However, as the door burst open, and a nurse ran though he didn't wait for her to utter a word and instantly moved to teleport directly to his son's hospital room.
At least I left a seal in his room. Looking around the hospital room he quickly noticed his son sitting up looking at him with a smile while his wife and a doctor talked in front of him.
"How is he?" He asked moving towards the two, only for his wife to turn towards him with a smile and a small tear in her eyes.
"He's alright Minato. He's going to be alright."
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Konoha Hospital, Shinobi Ward
10 Minutes earlier
"Ok son, try to open your eyes now." The doctor spoke kindly to the injured blond.
Opening his eyes slowly, Naruto noticed that both the brightness of the lights and his own headache had decreased to a much more manageable level.
"How is it?" The doctor asked.
"A lot better." Naruto answered. "Thank you."
"No problem at all my boy." The doctor said moving his hands away from the boy's head and releasing his medical chakra. "You gave us a bit of a scare there, but you seem to have recovered nicely enough. Just in case though I'd like to run a few tests to make sure yo-"
"Naruto!" Kushina yelled as she burst through the door, giving the doctor barely anytime to dodge as she lunged at her son and wrapped him in a tight hug.
"Don't you ever do that again ya know!" She said hugging him even tighter. "You had me worried sick!"
"M-m-mom." Naruto tried to say but all the air had already left him from his mother's chocking embrace. "C-c-cant breath."
"We were talking and then you suddenly fell asleep and wouldn't wake up, I tried shaking you and you still wouldn't wake up and then the medic said you had a concussion and-"Kushina quickly began talking, unable to hear her son's words while not releasing her grip.
"Ahem, Lady Kushina." The doctor said pretending to cough to catch her attention.
"Yes." She said turning towards the doctor only to have him point back to her now blue faced son.
"I believe you're choking my patient." He said in a serious tone, causing her to quickly release and apologize as Naruto gasped for the much-needed air.
"Now then as I was saying." The doctor stated moving back to Naruto's side. "I want to run a few mental tests to ensure there's no brain damage from that little episode."
"Brain damage." Kushina said horrified. "My little Naru, brain damage!?"
"Mom!" Naruto cried out, she promised never to call him that again…ever.
"It's only a formality." The doctor assured. "There's a very minute chance that any damage has occurred, but we should check regardless to be safe."
"O-ok then." Kushina said nodding her head. "Do I need to leave?" She asked hesitatingly.
"Nonsense!" The doctor exclaimed with a smile. "The test is quick, easy, and shouldn't require you to do anything more than sit quietly. There actually quite boring really."
"Ok." She said relieved as the doctor turned and pulled out a small light.
"Now Naruto, look towards me for a second."
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10 Minutes Later
"Ok that should do it." The doctor said with a smile as he finished writing down some information on his pad. "Between this and the medical scan, we did while you were unconscious. I can say with great confidence that you are going to make a complete recovery! That being said you may suffer from a minor headache for another few hours or so, but a good rest should knock it right out. You can return to duty tomorrow."
"Thanks Doctor." Naruto said.
"We appreciate your efforts doctor." Kushina said before turning her attention back to her son with watering eyes. "I'm so happy to see you alright Naru."
"Mom! You promised." Naruto half whined. He truly hated that name beyond words.
"I'll leave you two alone." The doctor said with a smile as he handed Kushina a note. "Here's his release form, just give it to the nurse and your good to go."
"How is he!?" Minato's panicked voice suddenly came from nowhere, causing the doctor to turn in shock while Kushina simply turned and smiled brightly to her husband.
"He's alright Minato." She said with teary eyes. "He's going to be alright."
"Thank Kami." Minato said moving towards his son but not really knowing what to say while the doctor decided to silently leave the room and give the family some privacy.
"Uh, Hey Naruto." Minato finally said a bit awkwardly.
"Hey dad." The blond answered back with a smile.
"I'm glad to see your all better. Have any ideas of when they'll let you leave here?" Minato asked.
"Actually, they said he can go anytime he wants. He'll be better in no time." Kushina said with a smile.
"Well, that's good." Minato said before adding. "Because I'm giving myself the rest of the day off."
"R-really?" Naruto said with widened eyes, his dad had never taken a day off. In fact, he didn't even know Hokage could take days off period!
"A-are you sure you can do that Minato." Kushina asked a bit hesitantly. "The village-"
"Will be fine without me for a few hours." Minato said with a tone of finality. "Besides we still have a belated graduate to celebrate."
"D-dad." Naruto said with a crippling smile as he moved gave him a hug.
"So, what should we do first then, graduate?" Kushina asked with a wink, but just a moment later heard Naruto's stomach growl loudly.
"Hahaha?" He laughed while rubbing the back of his head. "Guess I'm hungry, strange cause me and mom ate just a few hours ago."
However, his laughing stopped as he saw his parents shocked faces. "Mom? Dad? What's wrong?" He questioned as his parents looked at one another.
"Naruto." His mom began. "You've been asleep for nearly 16 hours."
"What!" The blond cried out.
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Near the Land of Fire's Border with Rice Patty
A lone figure ran through the woods nearing his rendezvous point. As he ran he felt his pouch for the small scroll within for the half dozen time since he began his journey.
Having the original would've been nice. He thought as he continued his sprint. But an exact copy will do just as well.
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SEVERAL MINUTES LATER
Konoha Hospital. Shinobi Ward.
Down the hall from Naruto's room
An elderly man wearing simple civilian garb walked slowly down the hall of the hospital. He had dark grey hair and walked with a cane. To most he was nothing more than an average old man, but to someone more observant the scars of battles long since passed and the stone-cold eyes of a trained killer hinted at the truth.
"Heh, what a damned fool I am." He uttered to himself while continuing to walk towards his destination. "Talking to Lord 4th like that. Hell, I shouldn't even be here."
But even as he continued to utter to himself, he never broke his stride. It had been years since his wife had died with his only son following very shortly after. Their loss had nearly been to much to bear, and as he spent the days mourning them he had distanced himself from the only family he had left.
By the time he managed to pull himself together and visit his daughter in law she merely screamed and yelled at him for not being there sooner, blamed him for her husband's death, and basically dis-owned him on the spot. He left soon after.
Perhaps he should've stayed, should've made her understand how he felt, and perhaps even did a bit more understanding himself. But instead of any of that he decided to throw himself back into his job and pretend none of it ever happened. At first, he thought it was his way of coping, his way of moving on but perhaps he'd been wrong. Perhaps he'd only been hiding these last few years, making sure he never had to go through the same thing ever again.
Perhaps it was his old age getting to him, making him re-think his life choices so he could eventually die with a semi-clear conscious. Perhaps it was the fact he'd just witnessed Lord Fourth in such a state that reminded him eerily of his own when he'd heard his son was missing in action before the final news came. Whatever the reason, something had made him come over here to see the last bit of family he had.
He finally came to a stop at a standard hospital door. He causally glanced at the number beside it and confirmed it was the one the nurse had given him when he first entered the building.
As he raised his hand to knock, he suddenly felt a brief wave of hesitation that gave him pause.
He gave a silent chuckle at his own weakness and slowly knocked on the door. Pushing it forward he walked inside and closed the door behind him. Within the room he saw a typical hospital room with a brown-haired woman sitting in a chair and a young boy laying unmoving in the bed next to her.
As the woman slowly looked towards him he could see the emotions playing across her face as clearly; a testament to her civilian background. Confusion, recognition, understanding, sadness, and anger.
It was of little surprise to him as she got up and started screaming with hot tears running down her face, how she called him a variety of names, and how she started hitting his chest with her hands telling him to leave and never come back; however, instead of listening to her as he had done last time he instead grabbed her in a hug and told her it would all be alright. Soon her screams died down and she was just left crying in his arms, while all he could do was to soothe her the best he could.
At the end of it all he could only hope that some bridges could be rebuilt, and old ANBU could in fact learn new tricks.
CHAPTER END
AUTHOR NOTES
OK Everyone that took way longer than I wanted it to. This is really just a nice short interlude chapter, but a pretty important one, nonetheless. I had planned on posting it the day after Chapter 5, but Work, Family, and some other things all came up which delayed this chapter longer than needed. Another part of the delay was also me trying to figure out if I wanted to leave that last bit with Fang in the chapter or not. Originally it was in the original story, but since many of the cut's I've made in the rewrite have taken out most of his scenes I questioned if I should leave this in or not. After much debate I decided to leave it in since it seemed like a good spot , but let me know your thoughts on it.
Anyway, I've decided to include a quick FAQ at the bottom of the author notes. Some of the questions are from actual IM's , Reviews, or something I just wanted to include, while others are from the original FAQ from the original story that I had posted around this time that I wanted to keep. I've already started on the next chapter but won't give a timeline for that one other than relatively soon and after that I'll be working on both this and "Weapon's In Hand" concurrently so expect updates on both albeit a bit slower. I've got bright plans for both stories so I hope you all stay tuned and please let me know what you're thinking of the story thus far as well as any cool ideas you may have. All Criticism is welcome!
Last but certainly not least, I wanted to give a shoutout to everyone who favorited and alerted this story since the last chapter as well as Chimera608, theIrishWriter, and Roberto9090 for reviewing! You're all awesome and I hope ya'll keep enjoying the story!
Q: Can you make Haku a girl and pair her with Naruto?
A: Honestly, I'm not against making Haku a girl since, in my mind, he pretty much is one in all but actual gender. As for pairing 'her' up with Naruto…who knows. I doubt I'd stretch the story to that extent, but the pairing are by no means decided. So while it is unlikely, I'll never say never!
Q: How did Kenichi not die making 8 Shadow Clones?
A: He came close, but you're smart thinking that. Perhaps he's stronger that we first thought….
Q: Why didn't Naruto ask about Kenichi?
A: Didn't come up, but it will. Likely in the next chapter or 2.
Q: Concussions don't work like that!
A: They do in this story 😊
Q: Will Kenichi Pass the Exam now?
A: I cannot answer that, but the story will.
Q: Was Naruto trying to kill Mizuki with that Kunai throw?
A: Not exactly, Naruto isn't at the point where he wants to kill someone yet. He knows he will have to eventually but has never been forced to. He was likely just trying to wound Mizuki enough to make him stop trying to kill him or slow him down enough to help him escape.
Q: Why was Mizuki so strong! You said Naruto was going to be at the same level as Sasuke, and he could've taken on this chump easy!?
A: Your right, in the anime Sasuke (and Naruto) could take on Mizuki easily enough but I also wanted to make this story semi more believable. Meaning I want Chunin to be stronger than Genin to the point where they are difficult to beat.
Q: After training for so long with Itachi how was Naruto having so much trouble fighting Mizuki?
A: Naruto's been training for a while but Itachi's been helping him and Sasuke with basic abilities (hand to hand, stealth, ect) he's leaving most of the advanced stuff out the door until both boys reach a high enough level. That being said, Naruto had trouble because he had to fight with that scroll on his back, which is around the same size he is, without letting Mizuki get his hands on it, not to mention this is his first real life or death fight and it's against his sensei. Plus he had to deal with a concussion. If Mizuki hadn't of gotten lucky and gave Naruto that concussion, then it's possible Naruto would've either been able to beat or at least escape Mizuki on his own.
Q: Is Kenichi going to be on Naruto's squad?
A: Nope, I've grown slightly attached my OC's but I'm keeping the teams to canon.